The Bosporus is 19 miles (30 km) long, with a maximum width of 2.3 miles (3.7 km) at the northern entrance and a minimum width of 2,450 feet (750 mmetres) between the Ottoman fortifications of Rumelihisarı and Anadoluhisarı. Its depth varies from 120 to 408 feet (36.5 to 124 mmetres) in midstream. In its centre a rapid current flows from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, but a countercurrent below the surface carries water of greater salinity from the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea. The Bosporus is heavily fished, since the channel is a seasonal migration route for fish to and from the Black Sea. Both shores are well wooded and are dotted with villages, resorts, and fine residences and villas.

Bosporus literally means “ox ford” and is traditionally connected with the legendary figure of Io, who in the form of a heifer crossed the Thracian Bosporus in her wanderings. Because of its the strait’s strategic importance for the defense of Constantinople (now Istanbul), straddling the southern end of the strait, the Byzantine emperors and later the Ottoman sultans constructed fortifications along its shores, especially on the European side. Two noteworthy examples are the castles of Anadoluhisarı, which was constructed on the Asian shore by Bayezid I in 1390–91, and Rumelihisarı, built directly across the strait by Mehmed II in 1452. With the growing influence of the European powers in the 19th century, rules were codified (in treaties of 1841 and 1871) governing the transit of commercial and naval vessels through the strait. An international commission assumed control of the strait after the Ottoman defeat in World War I; Turkey resumed control in 1936.

Two bridges have been built across the strait. The first, the Bŏgaziçi Boğaziçi (Bosporus I) Bridge, was completed in 1973 and has a main span of 3,524 feet (1,074 m; see photographmetres). The second bridge, the Fatih Sultan Mehmed (Bosporus II), was completed in 1988 and has a main span of 3,576 feet (1,090 m; see photographmetres).